1. Filed of the Invention
This invention concerns an automatic loader of ferrules for brushes as set forth in the main claim.
The invention is applied in the production of brushes, particularly to feed the ferrules in a desired and correct manner to the ferrule-assembling machine located downstream of the loader, wherein the bundle of bristles, and possibly also the handle, is associated with the ferrules.
The invention is applied to brushes of the flat type where the ferrule consists of a band of metal strip closed in a ring of whatsoever shape, either rectangular, round, polygonal, etc.
2. Background Information
Ferrule-assembling machines are known in the brush industry, which are fed separately by bundles of bristles, which constitute the terminal end of the brush, and by ferrules on which the bundles of bristles are attached, normally by means of glueing.
The ferrules are made by closing a band of metallic strip in a ring-shape, then super-imposing and crushing the edges along one of the narrow sides so as to constitute an outer closing projection.
The ferrules generally bear perimeter ribs and writings to identify the brush such as size, brand name, type of bristle or other information in order to define a univocal position wherein the bundle of bristles and the handle are assembled.
The function of the ribs is to stiffen the ferrule but they also function as an element to anchor the adhesive substance, for example the rubber cement, which is used to attach the bundle of bristles to the ferrule.
It is the presence of these ribs which determines univocally the side of the ferrule where the bundle of bristles will be inserted and the side of the ferrule, opposite the first, where the handle of the brush will be inserted.
At present, the operation of feeding the ferrules into the loader of the ferrule-assembling machine is performed manually by a worker who positions them one by one in the only correct feeding position inside the loader.
This manual operation takes a long time and involves a considerable increase in the costs of the operation of assembling the brushes.
To be more exact, the fact that the worker must be present conditions the productivity of the ferrule-assembling machine which, for this reason, is slowed down; this signifies that the full potential of the machine is not exploited and therefore businessmen working in this field have been complaining of this problem for some time.
To overcome this problem and to automate the step of feeding and loading the ferrules to the ferrule-assembling machine there has been a proposal to combine, upstream of the ferrule-assembling machine, a vibrator-feeder device to feed the ferrules automatically, separating them one by one and sending them towards the feeder zone of the ferrule-assembling machine.
This feeder device has the disadvantage that it cannot make a distinction between the side of the ferrule which will cooperate with the bundle of bristles and the side of the ferrule wherein the handle of the brush will be inserted.
In order to overcome this problem, the feeder device can be used only with particular ferrules of a symmetrical type, which increases costs due to the production of the particular ferrules and moreover it means that non-specialised ferrules obviously cannot be used.
The present applicant has designed, tested and embodied this invention to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art, and to provide further advantages.
The invention is set forth and characterised in the main claim, while the dependent claims describe variants of the idea of the main embodiment.